FMX: Red Bull X-Fighters Moscow Preview

To celebrate the first Freestyle Motocross Red Bull X-Fighters event on Russian dirt, track designer Dane Herron (USA) has come up with a special course. On 26 June the top freestyle motocross tour in the world touches down on Moscow’s Red Square to put on the biggest FMX event in Russian history in front of 55,000 fans.

The flocks of tourists milling around Red Square in the heart Moscow couldn’t quite believe their eyes as FMX heroes including Nate Adams (USA), Robbie Maddison (AUS) and current Tour leader Andrè Villa (NOR) cruised past on their bikes in preparation for Saturday night’s mega-event.

Marching music and fanfares will give way to the high-pitched whine of two-stroke motors on the famous square this week, with the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour ready to debut in Russia after stops in Mexico City (MEX) and Giza (EGY).

However, building an FMX track for the best riders in the world at such a historic location was no easy task for Dane Herron, Track Designer of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2010: “The thing we had to be most careful about was the weight. Some of the cobble stones on Red Square are very old and, of course, very fragile, so it was essential to have a stable foundation for the track to avoid damaging the Square.”

A total of 250 lorry loads of dirt, a 15-strong team and 10 days construction time were the solution to that particular logistical puzzle, while another three days will be required dismantle course after the event.

“We have four normal kickers and three dirt kickers on the course. In total there are five lines through the track, but the guys always surprise us on the night by throwing down runs we would never have thought possible,” laughs Herron ahead of one of the biggest stops of the year.

Just weeks after the spectacular show under the gaze of the towering Pyramids and Great Sphinx in Giza, the Red Bull X-Fighters are set to celebrate their second brand-new stop of the year in Russia at the most prestigious location in the country: Moscow’s Red Square.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, Red Square is surrounded by some of the most important buildings in the whole of Russia, among them the Kremlin, St Basil’s Cathedral and Lenin’s Mausoleum, built shortly after his death in 1930.

Every year millions of tourists pass through the Iberian Gate and Chapel onto the Square, which grew in political importance after the October Revolution of 1917.

Today, Red Square is without doubt one of the most famous city squares in the world, alongside the likes of St Mark’s Square in Venice and Trafalgar Square in London.

A total of 55,000 MX, SX, FMX, Moto, fans will pack the 70-metre-wide and 330-metre-long square on Saturday night to watch the best FMX riders in the world perform live.

After two of the six stops making up the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2010, Norway’s Andrè Villa leads the overall standings, with three more stars of the international FMX scene hot on his heels and looking to move into top spot in Moscow.